Consistency-part 2 Habit of Thought

Ok, so last time I wrote about Consistency and just laid down the foundation for some future blogs on the topic.  I touched a bit on how consistency is really just a thought away.  I also touched on emotions and that is really where it all starts.  So what I wanted to rap about this time is habit of thought and how to go about creating the habits of thought that are going to head you in the direction of what you want in your baseball career or life for that matter. 

Your thoughts and emotions basically go hand and hand.  They are like best buddies.  Your thoughts don't want to go anywhere without their partner, Mr. emotion.  This is how it all starts:  you have a thought, during these thoughts that you have there will be an emotion that comes with it.  If you can be aware enough of your emotions and what you feel like while these thoughts go in and out of your head, you will know where you are heading in your career and life.  For example, Johnny is ten years old.  He has trouble throwing strikes when he is on the mound.  Parents are screaming at him to throw strikes, the coach is screaming at him to throw strikes and his teammates are doing the same.  The next day Johnny is relaxing by himself and playing some video games.  As he is playing the video games he remembers what happened in yesterdays baseball game.  The thought comes through his head that he is not a very good pitcher.  Immediately after thinking that thought he felt a weird feeling in his gut.  It felt like failure, pain, maybe even guilt.  Well, in that moment his emotions are letting him know that the thought he is currently thinking is not serving him.  The thought he is thinking feels bad because it is not really true.  Yes, Johnny had a bad outing the other day and couldn't throw strikes, but this doesn't make him a bad person or even a bad player, it just means he has some work to do to get better.

Ok, so what work does he have to do to get better?  Well, right now I guarantee everyone who is reading this blog is saying he may need mechanical work or maybe he should get a pitching coach or maybe he doesn't practice enough during the week.  Each of you would probably be very right in all of those answers except I want to play devils advocate here.  The physical work is definitely a part of the process, but what should really come first?  The emotional/mental process or the physical process?  For most everyone, especially the kids, the process would always start with the physical work and then somewhere down the line the kid would be good enough or not to continue playing.  But what happened if the kid started realizing that his habit of thoughts and the feelings that come with those thoughts are leading him closer or further away to the goals he wants to accomplish in life?  Would he want to know this information?  And wouldn't it be better to have this information sooner then later in their life's journey?

This brings us to the purpose of this blog, habit of thought.  As soon as we wanted to or would be inspired to, we should start to take care of our habit of thought.  We do that by being more aware of how we feel and then making statements or creating thoughts that assist us in feeling the way we want to feel.  The Universe is a very powerful place, I think we could all agree on that even without getting to deep into this.  But if we can believe, as I mentioned in the first "consistency" blog, that our thoughts create our success, then we need to address this as soon as we can.  If you are a parent reading this blog you could do many things for your kids to create a positive and uplifting environment for them to succeed and get better.  If you are an athlete reading this blog then you have the inside route to success and a long, healthy career that most would never know about.  Now, this doesn't mean others will not have success if they don't know about this, they will, many do!!  The point is that if we can learn about our thoughts and emotions and practice the mental/emotional game we want, then we can deliberately create a career we want instead of thinking we are at the mercy of politics.

The next step is pretty simple, be aware of how you feel.  So after reading this blog sit for a second and try this exercise.  Make a statement that makes you feel a fulfilling emotion inside your gut.  A feeling like appreciation, love, joy, anything like that.  It can be a statement about yourself, a friend, a family member, whatever creates that good feeling emotion.  Now, on the flip side, think of something that makes you feel an emotion like anger or frustration.  Do you see how your thoughts are creating emotions inside you?  Which statement made you feel better?  Which statement do you think would better serve you in your career or in your life?  This is what habit of thought is all about.  As we practice good feeling habits of thought that is what we get back in our life.  The success/consistency can come immediately, it really doesn't take long.  But, if you have been (for the lack of a better word) a negative thinker for a while, it just may take a little bit to tip the scales and see the consistency on a normal basis.  Trust me, you will see a difference in your performance immediately, you just have to be patient to gain the consistency based on how good you are at practicing the thoughts you want to have in your life.

So get to work.  Start being aware of how you are feeling and if you don't like it, then make a better statement to get you on track.  More to come on this soon.....pitch well everyone!!!

Consistency

I continue to get some great ideas for blog topics from friends and interested Passion for Pitching followers.  This blog is going to continue with that theme and so I took this idea from my good friend Christine Meyer.  She happens to be a tremendous life coach in the lovely state of Pennsylvania.  We have great conversations on a regular basis and she is able to challenge my thought process over and over.  The topic she wanted me to discuss was consistency.  So this will be blog #2 in the series of blogs I am responding to from you guys out there.  How can a pitcher become consistent? 

Consistency is the key to pitching success, bar none.  At any age, if you can produce consistent results on an outing to outing basis you will be a big league pitcher, no question.  Seems easy, right??  Produce consistent results and POOF, there you are, in the big leagues.  Ok, so if it seems so easy, why is it so tough?  Why can't kids create consistency in their outings over and over and over?

I am going to try and make this as easy as possible, as clear as possible.  But what I am going to need from you is a little trust, a little leeway.  I want you to all understand that this process of success and consistency IS easy.  It is only a thought away.  Here is what I mean by that, the body is controlled by the brain.  The visual information that we take in from a moment to moment process is taken in, received by the brain, translated by the brain and then carried out via commands from the brain. (more or less, this is not a perfect description, but you get my drift)  If this is true (and it is) couldn't we add our thoughts to this as well?  Couldn't we say that the thoughts we think are being computed by the brain and then carried out through our body?  If you can get your head around this and start to believe it, then consistency is truly just a thought away.  The more we are able to think thoughts that are success thinking thoughts, consistency thinking thoughts, then that is exactly what we will get. 

Think of it this way.  If our thoughts can construct our reality then the more I can train myself, the more I can make good thoughts a habit, then a consistent reality is what I will create on the mound.  The more I realize that my current experience is being formed by the thoughts I am thinking from moment to moment then I will be more aware of my thoughts and the reality they are creating.  I then can realize how important my NOW moment is.  My NOW moment is all I have.  It doesn't matter what type of failures I have had or inconsistencies I have had in the past because my thoughts RIGHT NOW are what is creating my experience now and in the future.

This is big time information if you can believe in it and really embrace it.  Just think of the power you can have in your career, life, relationship, anything!  So what do you need to do to get started?  Well, I could make this into a long series of blogs and may do just that, but let me give you the first clue.  Start being aware of how you feel on a daily basis.  You don't need to get too crazy right now, just be more aware of how you feel day to day.  This is where it all starts.  Emotions are the key.  If you can begin to understand what your emotions are telling you and then how to direct your thoughts to improve your emotions, then you will be well on your way to the consistent career you are looking for.

I am going to leave you with that...I swear we will continue this discussion very soon but I think this is a good start for us.  So go back through and read this blog a few more times so you can truly understand the message.  Then I will come back and get more specific and paint a clear picture on the topic of consistency.  It may take a few blogs but it will be well worth the read.  Until then hope all is well and hope everyone is pitching their butts off this Spring!

Metronome

One of the biggest subjects when discussing pitching and the wind-up is being able to create a repeatable delivery.  For me, that means everything needs to be timed up, work in proper sequence, flow, be smooth, fluid, and of course under control. 

That is a lot to cover when you are a young pitcher trying to figure things out.  It is even a tough task for some of the professionals I work with in the Cardinals Organization. So how can a pitcher make sure he is repeating his delivery and that it will be the same the next time he comes out to practice?  The Metronome is my answer to this question.

Does everybody know what a metronome is?  It's a device that maintains a specific beat with a ticking counter so you know if you are maintaining a certain rhythm and tempo.  Mostly they are used for musicians to make sure their timing is right for a certain song.  What the metronome allows a pitcher to do is stay on rhythm, maintain a certain timing to the delivery and then it also makes sure the pitcher repeats the delivery on the same timing each repetition.  Each time the metronome clicks or tick-tocks, it gives immediate feedback to the pitcher of whether or not they are in rhythm for that specific delivery.  After a while the pitcher will not need the metronome, it will be cemented in their bodies timing.  But what do you do before you get to that point in time?  Again, that is why the metronome is such a helpful tool.  You will be able to repeat the same timing over and over until it becomes natural to you.

The other thing the metronome does for you which is so great is that it lets you feel whether you are moving too slow or not.  When I use the metronome with my professional pitchers they always ask  me if they are truly working that slow or not.  I usually get them on the mound and have them do THEIR normal motion.  Then when I set the metronome to what THEIR current, natural rhythm is, they always feel like they are working too slow.  I love that about the metronome.  It is not me telling them they are too slow, they need to get moving, it is the feedback they get from the metronome that lets them know.  Now, as we start to speed the rhythm of the metronome up, the pitcher themselves can decide on how fast or slow they want to move and they will always have that feedback to see if it is on time or not.

Look out for a youtube clip on my personal channel coming very soon on the metronome.  I will show you exactly how to use it and how to time up your feet with the rhythm of the metronome.  This is a great learning tool for all ages of pitchers, little league to the big leagues!!!  Ok, gone for now, hope all is well with you out there in the pitching world!!!

The Complete Pitcher's Workout

Often parents ask me, "What should my son be doing for workouts to prepare for the season?"  It's a great question for every young pitcher to ask himself.  Every time a pitcher goes out to train they should know what they are going to do that day and what the focus of the workout is going to be.  With a simple program, pitchers of any age can get the most out of their training time.  There are several throwing programs that a pitcher can utilize in their training.  The first is for a throwing workout.
 
The throwing workout program normally includes:
Body preparation
Long toss
Focused throwing
Arm care
Body work

Body Preparation
The first part of ANY throwing program or workout should be body preparation.  A normal body preparation consists of three things:  visual work, balance work and joint mobility work.  The whole point in preparing your body for the training it is about to do is to wake up the nervous system.  You want the body to respond to the work it is about to do and you also want the body to accept the work.  This includes visual work, balance and joint mobility.  The body preparation portion of the training session will assist in waking up your nervous system and will allow you to get the most out of your training for the day.

Long Toss
Once body preparation is finished it is time to move on to the throwing part of the workout.  Long toss is what most people, including myself, like to call it.  I will go into the particulars of long toss in later blogs, but the basis of long toss is to throw as far as you can for that specific day, nice and relaxed on the way out and then more intense on the way back in.  A normal long toss period during off season training sessions may last anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour depending on how far that particular pitcher can throw a baseball.  With long toss, there should be no rush to back up to the farthest distance; the pitcher should take their time.  As for younger kids, naturally their long toss session may not be as long because they will not be able to throw the ball as far.
 
Focused Throwing
Immediately following the long toss portion of the training session there should be some sort of focused throwing.  There can be several ways to use this portion of the workout including velocity work, command work, bullpens, flatground, working on off speed pitches and many more ideas.  Whatever the pitcher chooses to work on that day is not as important as the focus they bring to the process.

Arm Care
Now we move on to the arm care portion of the session.  For this part the pitcher should have a handful or so of exercises that assist in keeping the arm healthy.  Scapula movement and rotator cuff exercises should be the focus.  Making sure the body knows how to move the scapula properly and also doing maintenance work on the rotator cuff muscles in and around the shoulder should go a long way in keeping the pitcher's arm healthy.

Body Work
Last but not least in the training session should be some sort of body work.  How many and the type of exercises the pitcher chooses depends on what type of weight training work they do during the week.  All of the week's schedules, weight training, throwing, conditioning, etc. should all work together and be thought out before the week begins.  This way the pitcher will know exactly what they need to be doing each day and how hard to push themselves depending on what type of training and intensity level they are using for the week.

Normally it is recommended to do some sort of cardiovascular work at the end of each training session.  I usually have my guys doing short bursts of speed with small rests in between drills.  If the pitcher is going to do strength exercises with cardiovascular work for that session, make sure to do the cardiovascular work first and then do the strength exercises. (There are all sorts of different point of views on this particular subject that also will be discussed in future blogs.)

Once the pitcher gets a feel for the workouts it is very easy to follow the program and plan out the workouts before they go to the field to throw.  Remember to make the workouts as specific as possible but also make them as fun as possible.  Try adding in fun games that are challenging and will also help with developing you into the pitcher you are wanting to become.  We will discuss the individual parts of the entire training session in later blogs.

For now, have fun and enjoy! 

     

Passion for Pitching Says Hello

     Can you believe it?  Doug White and Passion for Pitching has started a blog.  I remember when CD's first came out, it took me a full year before I even thought about buying something other then a tape cassette.  Now the kids these days don't even know what tape cassettes are.  I have over two hundred tapes of music sitting in storage right now collecting dust.  Not to mention the VHS tapes I also have after refusing to buy this thing called a DVD player.  I thought there was no way CD's and DVD's would be the mainstream thing.  Plus, they were always so expensive compared to tapes.  Look at me now, I own my own business, I work for the Cardinals Organization as a Minor League Pitching Instructor, I have my own website, youtube video clips, and now my own blog.  What a world we live in huh?  A place where they allow all sorts of people from all sorts of walks of life to get on the internet and share whatever it is they want to on their own blog.

     For weeks now I have been wondering what I could write about on a blog.  Should I talk mechanics?  Should I discuss pitching strategies?  How about workouts and the million different ways there are to prepare your body for competition?  Well, all that is great stuff and we will cover it all as I get a hang of this blog stuff.  I am absolutely positive that one idea after the next will come to me and I am also positive that everyone out there who will be reading and supporting this blog will have a hand in that creative process.  But first I wanted to use this first blog to give everyone the ground rules for this Passion for Pitching blog.

   The Ground Rules

Ground Rule #1 - The blogger is always right!  Not really, but I always wanted to say that.  There will be topics discussed and passed along this blog that not everyone is going to agree with or believe in and that's okay.  I started this blog to allow for a creative outlet and pass on some things that I feel strongly about.  But I also started this blog to learn some things as well.  The more people that get involved here and share their thoughts and ideas to what is being posted, the better we can all get in our quest to enjoy the game of baseball more.  Let's use this outlet to create some great things and broaden our horizons so more athletes and coaches can improve and enjoy the game of baseball.

Ground Rule #2 - This blog is for entertainment purposes!  That is not to say this blog is for laughs only and should not be taken seriously, but at the root of all this information that one can absorb in the game of baseball, it should be for the joy of it.  That is also not to say that the game isn't tough and built on failures because it is.  But that is where the enjoyment comes from.  The enjoyment comes from going 0 for your last 7 and then going 3 for 3 in your next game and scoring or driving in the winning run.  That is what baseball is all about.  You have to take the good with the bad and that is so much more true in the sport of baseball then any other sport you will ever participate in.  So lets enjoy and not take it so seriously, we will have plenty of time for that when we get on the field of play!

Ground Rule #3 - Your participation is wanted!  I can't wait to interact with the individuals who will come across this blog.  Let me know what topics you are interested in on the subject of pitching.  I will do my best to answer any questions you have or reply to any thoughts or comments you give to my blog posts.  There will be a lot of talk on this blog about other sides to pitching then just mechanics, we may even talk about life from time to time, but either way this blog won't work without your participation so come and enjoy!

     The second post is coming soon!  Check out my website at passionforpitching.com and sign up to be on my email list to keep up to date on all the latest!